


Random Texts and Pizza Girls

by forbiddenquill



Category: Faking It (TV 2014)
Genre: But she also has a crush on the pizza delivery girl, College!AU, F/F, Karma has a crush on this girl whom she's been texting for a while, Oh what should she do now?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-03 19:13:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2874779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forbiddenquill/pseuds/forbiddenquill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karma has a problem. </p><p>After being cheated on by her boyfriend for nearly a year, she's been depressed. Like, eating her heart out and watching RomComs depressed. </p><p>So, maybe it's not such a big deal that she's sort of falling for this girl whom she's been texting for a while now. Well, maybe it is since she's also sort of falling for the pizza delivery girl who keeps flirting with her at every given chance. </p><p>Not a big deal, right? </p><p>(Right?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Random Texts and Pizza Girls

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos for you, Karmy shipper.

“You’re going to love her,” Shane said, grabbing Karma’s phone and typing in the number. “I swear, the whole time we were talking, all I could think about was,  _Karma is going to love this girl_. Not only is she incredibly attractive but she’s into the same stuff like you! Anyway, you should text her or something. She’s really something. I didn’t understand all of the references she gave me but she seems pretty cool and obviously  _your_ type.”

Karma didn’t even bother taking her phone back. The only people who texted her occasionally were Shane and her own mother; she didn’t feel like texting another complete stranger. Besides, the solitude of being stuck in a room 24 hours a day deprived her of any reason to actually socialize with other people outside the four confines of her room. There was some good in that, she supposed.

“What’s her name?” Karma asked idly, grabbing her laptop from the nearby counter and sliding into the dining table.

Shane frowned. “I don’t recall,” he said, “but you can ask her yourself. Come on, Ashcroft, mingle a little bit through social media!”

Karma rolled her eyes and dragged her laptop in front of her. They were sitting in her living room, where the place was littered with countless books and papers for college. Every now and then, Karma could spot some leftovers she apparently had forgotten to finish but she didn’t care and she wasn’t ashamed even in the slightest. Shane knew her personality like the back of his hand.

“Truthfully, Shane,” she said, “I simply don’t have the time to go out and ‘mingle a little bit through social media.’ It’s tiring, I hate it and I just want to stay here.”

Shane handed her phone back. Karma took it, glancing at the name, which read: BLONDIE in big bold letters. She rolled her eyes once more before tucking the mobile into her pocket.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” she muttered, “I’ve got a lot of stuff in my plate right now. Like a half-eaten burrito.”

Shane sighed exasperatedly. “You’re not taking college seriously, Karma! You’re not taking  _life_  seriously! What the hell happened to the outgoing girl who went to parties and who danced a lot when she was bored? Are you  _that_  depressed?”

Karma opened her Netflix account and then swerved in her chair so that she was looking Shane in the eye.

“I’m not depressed,” she said, “I’m just tired. There’s a difference.”

Shane’s face became less harsh. He leaned forward, tapping his finger against the table. His eyes were huge and full of concern. Karma hated it.

“Is this because of Liam?” he asked. “Look, he was an asshole! I get that; I’ve been friends with the dude for  _years_ now but I’m on  _your_ side. You don’t have to feel like crap all the time.”

“I don’t feel like crap,” Karma automatically said, willing herself to keep a straight face.

“Right and Justin Bieber is my boyfriend.”

Karma wished she could throw a laptop at his face but she was going to watch  _The_   _Flash_ and she didn’t have the energy to lift that kind of object.

“Liam didn’t dump me.” Somehow, she had the urge to say it out loud. Maybe if she did, it’ll sound true to her own ears, even though it already was. “I dumped  _him_.”

Shane waved it off. “Still. You need to leave this house.”

Karma let out a haggard sigh. Liam was her ex. They had nearly reached a year of dating when Karma found out that he had been cheating on her with someone from his art class. She had walked in on them before their anniversary, wanting to surprise him but she was the one who got surprised, alright. It was a miracle she hadn’t thrown something at their nude bodies; she could barely keep it together right now just by thinking about it.

She was heartbroken. She was depressed. She was stuck in her apartment all day long, only getting out when she felt the need to rent a movie from the local shop. Her grades were failing and Shane was the only one who kept visiting her with all of the homework the professor wanted her to have, which she still declined. She felt as if someone had reached out inside her and messed up all of her parts, ruining any chances of her being truly functional again.

And it was horrible, it was just fucking horrible.

“I’ll leave once the world runs out of TV shows to watch,” she mumbled.

Shane scowled. “Well, the school still won’t run out of homework to finish.”

“I’m okay, Shane,” Karma said, the lie heavy on her tongue.

Her friend didn’t believe her. He stood up, slung his bag over his shoulder and tapped her on the head, his face a mask of concern and worry.

“Don’t let one guy ruin your life,” he said. Then he pointed to her pocket, where her phone bulged. “And call her. You need to work on getting back up on your feet. The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.”

“How sure are you Blondie’s interested in girls?” Karma asked, standing up and following Shane out the door.

Shane turned around and lightly smacked her cheek. “Because,” he said, smiling as he stepped back, “my gay radar is never wrong.”

.

“Crap,” Karma said out loud when she opened the fridge. Nothing. Not even a half-eaten piece of apple. Empty like her gnawing stomach. She slammed the door shut and pulled out her phone, frowning when she realized that Shane had left her a couple of messages again. She skimmed through them, snorting when she saw a picture he had sent featuring him partying inside a gay bar.  _You’re missing the fun_ , he typed and Karma rightfully rolled her eyes.

“Dork,” she muttered, pushing away scraps of homework from the counter and leaning against it. She had rented this apartment after getting out of high school. The university, which she attended, was just a few miles away. She had met Liam when she accidentally waltzed into his personal art room, after having been lost on the way to class. And through Liam, she had met Shane.

Liam. The name brought a bitter taste to her mouth. She had believed that they were meant to be with each other, that they were going to spend the rest of their lives listening to each other breathing on the other side of the bed. The belief got shoved out of the window the minute she saw him with that other girl.

She forced the memories away and ordered some pizza.

When she hung up, she moved to the couch again and turned on the TV. She picked up several pieces of homework along the way and also some empty packets of Chinese Food. Then she was settled. The pizza would get her in twenty minutes, tops. She focused on the show, even though her mind kept coming back to her empty stomach.

For the briefest moment which she thought about Liam, Karma remembered the alias BLONDIE in bold letters. Then the doorbell rang and she forgot all about it.

“Coming!” she called, jumping out of the couch and hurrying for the pizza. She grabbed her wallet from the counter and swung open the front door, her stomach almost moaning with want for the pizza.

The pizza delivery girl raised the box. “Ashcroft Residence?” she asked, looking up and locking eyes with Karma. Hers were green.

For a moment, Karma was speechless. Then she blinked and took the pizza box. Her face felt hot.  _God, she’s cute_ , she thought to herself, biting her lower lip as the girl stepped back and looked for the receipt.

The girl was a few inches taller than Karma and she had the structure of an exotic Russian model. Her blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail but strands of it curled under her ears. Long eyelashes covered her light green eyes and her cheeks were flushed red from the cold outside. Freckles splashed across her face and her lips were plump as well. She was more than cute actually, she was  _gorgeous_. Even though she was wearing the standard Pizza Delivery girl uniform, she still looked gorgeous.

“Karma Ashcroft?” the girl asked, reading from the receipt in her hand.

“That’s me,” Karma said, handing her the payment. Their fingers brushed and the other girl looked away.

“Sign here please,” Pizza Girl stated, passing her the pen.

Once they were finished, Pizza Girl smiled, thanked her and walked away. She walked with her shoulders hunched and her head down. When she disappeared around the corner, Karma sighed and shut the door, the smell of the pizza almost making her forget about the girl.  

.

“God, Karma, when the hell are you going to clean up after yourself?” Shane demanded the moment he walked in.

Karma flipped him off from the couch.

“Screw you,” she said around a mouthful of chips.

Shane’s face was a mask of disgust as he dodged a pile of pizza boxes rising from the floor. Since Karma no longer had the energy to go out and buy her own groceries, she called the Pizza shop on a regular basis now and the Pizza Girl, whom Karma was starting to like, was always the one who delivered them for her.

Karma was watching  _The Great Gatsby_ on the TV. She had only read the book once (for her English class in high school) but she liked the story well enough. She especially liked Leonardo Dicaprio’s acting.

Shane came into view. He dropped down on the sofa and reached blindly for the remote on the coffee table, which seemed to have vanished amidst the clutter of the Nicholas Sparks novels. He made a face as he switched the TV off and turned to Karma.

“I’m surprised you still take showers,” he said.

Karma rolled her eyes, too tired to even fight for her program.

“I’m thinking things through,” she mumbled, scratching the back of her neck.

“Thinking things through doesn’t necessarily mean spending a month watching RomComs and fattening yourself with junk food,” Shane told her severely. He wrinkled his nose when he spotted a discarded Soda can under the coffee table. “God, when was the last time you actually ate  _real_  food?”

“I think that was the time Liam took me out for dinner, which was at McDonalds, mind you.”

Shane shook his head, biting back a smile. “He was the worst boyfriend you could’ve ever had,” he said mildly, settling comfortably against couch. He crossed his arms and switched the TV back on again.

Karma was looking at him. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.

“Watching TV? Well, I just recently had to endure one hell of a lecture class and I need my brain to start working again so Leonardo DiCaprio’s a good remedy—”

“No, you dumbass.” Karma twisted her body around so that she was facing Shane properly. She tilted her head to the side, gnawing her lower lip as she tried to get the words out, “Why are you helping  _me_? Knowing Liam, I know that he’s moping because of the fact that he just lost a really fine piece of ass but  _he’s_ your best friend. You’ve only known me for months.”

Shane looked up at her seriously. His dark eyes were full of determination. “Because,” he said matter-of-factly, “I’m not an idiot. Liam wronged you and he deserves to burn in whatever hell he believes in but I know that you don’t deserve the pain you’re feeling right now.”

Tears stung the back of Karma’s eyes.  _Oh,_   _Shane,_ she thought, wiping off them off. She laughed and then turned away, feeling both relieved and miserable. She felt as if some huge weight had been ripped off her shoulders. Shane reached over and patted her hand. Then they turned back to the TV and watched as Jay Gatsby tried to win Daisy Buchanan’s heart all over again.

.

Due to Shane’s prep talk, Karma actually managed to get out of her house the next day. It was disorienting at first since she had spent the last few weeks cooped up in her apartment without the sun shining at her face all the time. And of course, she had almost forgotten her bus fare and her bag and her cellphone on the way to the university. All telltale signs of just how completely nervous she was to be back in the campus, where all of her friends and all of Liam’s friends knew what had happened to their so called relationship.

She still wasn’t back to her old self. She had picked out some regular old jeans and a white shirt that read  **SAVE THE WHALES.** Nothing too fancy or eye-catching, which was strange since Karma _loved_  attention. Her hair hadn’t been styled and she had only applied a little bit of blush-on and some lip gloss before waltzing in back to her class and handing the professor all the homework she had missed for the past few weeks. (She had done them all last night so her eyes were still puffy around the edges.) The professor smiled and gestured to her seat, saying, “Welcome back, Miss Ashcroft.”

Some of her friends invited her out for lunch but she politely declined, saying that she had a lot of stuff to catch up on. She didn’t want to tell them the real reason—that she knew that they were going to ask about Liam.  So instead of hopefully spending the rest of the afternoon partying at some bar, Karma was once again stuck in her old apartment with a big pile of books to study on. Her course was Psychology and she had a lot of terms to memorize about, especially Freud.

So when 10 pm rolled around and she was stuck in her pajamas while jotting down notes and occasionally eating some chips out of a bag, it was a surprise when somebody rang the doorbell. She looked up, frowning and thinking that it was probably somebody asking for directions (which she simply wasn’t in the mood for) when a voice, sharp and clear, called out, “Pizza Delivery.”

“I didn’t order any pizza,” Karma muttered to herself in wonder but she stood up anyway and opened the door, where Pizza Girl was waiting on the other side, holding out a fresh box of Hawaiian. A messenger back was slung over her shoulder and she was wearing her uniform again.

Karma repeated, “I didn’t order any pizza” and Pizza Girl smiled. She had a nice smile.

“I know,” Pizza Girl said, “but somebody ordered it for you.”

“ _Now_  I know you’ve made a mistake,” Karma said, even though her insides did warm at the thought of somebody ordering pizza for  _her_. Pizza always made everything better, after all. “There’s nobody in the entire world who would do that for me.”

Pizza Girl casually shifted her weight to balance the pizza box. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail again, showing her sexy jawline and the freckles dotting the sides of her neck. Karma pretended not to notice that she was staring profoundly now.

“Well, somebody did,” Pizza Girl said, smiling. She handed Karma the box and Karma, seeing no other choice, reluctantly accepted. “I’m sure that you’ll find out who that someone is. This is free of charge, after all. You kind of owe it to them.”

Karma looked at Pizza Girl carefully. “If you see them, tell them thanks, I guess.”

The other girl’s smile widened. “Noted,” she said before tilting her hat forward and walking away with her messenger bag hitting her thigh repeatedly. Karma watched her go and then gave the pizza box a puzzled look, almost as if held all the secrets of the universe.

.                                                                

“Karma, you are  _very_  attractive,” Shane said for the millionth time that morning as they conversed over a table full of waffles. They had arrived at this Diner half an hour ago and after sharing the strange encounter with Pizza Girl, Shane had jumped into the idea that Karma had some super-secret admirer.

“I’m not attractive,” Karma said defensively, “I’m okay, I guess. My face doesn’t need to attract unwanted admirers.”

“God, you are such a dork, Ashcroft.” Shane rolled his eyes after applying more syrup into his waffles. He then licked some liquid off his finger. “I can like, name a few hundred other people in this campus who are less attractive than you.”

It was Karma’s turn to roll her eyes. “Well, that’s just mean.”

“I’m serious!” Grinning, Shane reached out and shook her shoulder. Karma managed a small smile. “Why is it so hard to believe that you might actually have a secret admirer? Hell,  _I_ want a secret admirer and I’m like really popular.”

“Hmm? I can practically hear your modesty being thrown out of the window.” Karma bit into her waffle and chewed, thinking about the amount of homework she hadn’t finished last night since she was too busy pigging out and worrying about the fact that  _somebody had actually bought her a box of pizza_. That was she always did; worry about something she knew that she didn’t deserve. Come on, she was Karma Ashcroft, wannabe Broadway singer and currently a mess because of some douchebag who had been cheating on her for months now.

How the hell could anyone like Karma? Much less buy her something?  

“Hey.” Shane hit his fork against his plate repeatedly. The sound made Karma cringe. “Have you called Blondie yet? I know—don’t give me that look—I forgot her name but she’s still interested, I believe. Hey! Maybe she was the one who bought you that pizza!”

Karma nearly choked on her waffle. She hurriedly drank some water in order to drown down the food stuck in her throat. “Are you insane?” she said flippantly. Shane raised his eyebrows. “Okay, first of all. I’ve never even  _met_  her. Second of all, if she was the one who ordered that pizza, then it’s fucking creepy that she’d know where I live.”

“Knowing where someone is located isn’t creepy,” Shane said defensively, “It’s cute.”

“Holy shitcakes, Shane,” Karma said, leaning forward. “Have you followed someone into their house?”

“No!” Shane exclaimed quickly. Karma gave him a look. “Once! Okay, maybe more than once but it was necessary! I had to know if he was hiding some secrets behind his closet. Maybe a secret Santa suit or something.”

Karma rubbed her eyes. “God, I can’t believe I’m friends with you.”

“You haven’t talked to her yet, haven’t you?”

She didn’t even bother hiding it. “Nope, I’ve got more important things to do.”

Shane let out a sigh that sounded as if it came from the bottom of his heart. He leaned forward, his eyes sad and concerned as he took her hands, his fingers soft and caressing. Karma felt a rush of affection and she smiled.

“I’m not always going to be there, Karma,” Shane said gently, “I’ll try to be but we both know it’s impossible since I  _could_  get hit by a car when I leave this diner and that ten years from now, you’ll be in labor while your husband or wife is out of town and I’ll be halfway across the world and I can’t just come and drop everything for you, even though I may want to. It’s better if I know that someone else is going to be there for you, since I know how hard Liam fucking douchebag broke your heart.”

Karma pulled her hands back. “Since when the hell did you get so diplomatic?” she questioned.

“Must be the waffles.” Shane tipped his head back and laughed. Karma managed a few chuckles.

Then the atmosphere sobered. Karma looked back down at her breakfast again, feeling something inside her stomach churning. The thought of Shane always looking out for her, even though Liam was his best friend—well, it kind of made her eyes water. It also made her realize that even though he was a bit of a dick sometimes, Shane was loyal through and through.

“I’ll contact her,” she found herself saying, even though the idea of talking to a stranger unnerved her.

Shane looked up, grinning. “I knew you’d come around,” he said, slapping the table so hard that his plate rattled and his orange juice spilled all over his pants.

Karma threw her head back and laughed.          

.

Karma didn’t know what to say.

Sitting in the middle of her bed with her phone clutched tightly between her hands, she thought about how insanely absurd the situation was. Some cheesy romantic plot for a Nicholas Sparks film. No doubt Shane was laughing his ass off in his own apartment. The thought of texting or even calling someone whom she had never met before—well, she knew all about online dating and that didn’t sit well with her.

She sighed. Shane just needed some excuse to exercise her bisexuality.

She looked back down at the number Shane had saved in her contacts, with the name BLONDIE stamped across it. She bit her lower lip so hard she tasted blood. There was nothing holding her back, no Liam to pull her into a miserable heap anymore. She needed to get back out there, even though it hurt. Even though everything reminded her of a guy who toyed with her heart. Maybe texting this Blondie person would give her some kind of hope. Maybe she just needed a friend, even though she already had Shane.

Karma rubbed her eyes and glanced at her watch. It was way too early. About a quarter to eight. She had already finished some of her homework but a big pile of it still sat in the coffee table back in the living room. The thought of going back there and trying to juggle terms about Freud and personalities didn’t really seduce her so she leaned back against the headrest of her bed and typed in the words:

             **Call me an idiot but apparently, my friend Shane thinks you and I should be friends or something. He gave me your number, so I’m assuming that you were the one who gave it to him. I hope you remember Shane—he’s tall and gay and fabulous and I’m praying that I’m not making a huge mistake here so…**

Way too lengthy for an introduction but Karma sent it anyway. Hitting that Send button felt strangely final and some of the weight in her chest got lifted off. Well, she  _did_  promise Shane she’d contact Blondie and she had. Since that part was over, it was time to move on to the next stage. The waiting.

Apparently, she didn’t have to wait long because her phone chimed again.

“Holy shit,” she said to herself, straightening her back and swiping away the Lock Screen. A new message had popped out, from none other than Blondie.

             **You’re not an idiot and you’re not making a mistake. Yes. I know Shane. He was very…persistent about talking to you. I guess I just didn’t have the guts.**

Karma tried to find the right response. She went along with whatever came to her head.

             **Well, this is unexpected. I’m Karma, by the way :)**

The next chime came seconds later.  _You’ve got a lot of free time, Blondie_ , Karma thought.

             **Cute name.**

She snorted. “Kudos for being straight to the point _,_ ”Karma muttered. She typed quickly and was sending the message before even giving herself time to think too much about it.

             **Withhold back any judgments, okay? What about you? Aren’t you going to volunteer your name as well?**

Half a minute later, the phone chimed again.

             **I am Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.**

Karma let out a surprised laugh when her eyes skimmed the words.

             **Now you’re just making fun of me.**

_Ding!_

             **Not all of us have stripper names, Karma.**

Furious but trying hard not to laugh at the same time, Karma typed:

             **Hey, I’m serious over here.**

 _Ding! Ding!_ Two messages.

             **Okay, I’m sorry—** and—  **I’m Amy.**

Karma said the name out loud. It rolled out of her tongue perfectly, like chewing strawberry with chocolate dipped on top. If only she had a face to put along with it.

             **Cute name** , she typed.

The next reply came after what felt like two seconds. It was funny, because Liam always kept her waiting for a reply. Amy didn’t seem to apply and it felt nice, to be given attention. Liam was always like a puppy, especially after it had seen something that interested him. You had to prod it a couple of times in order for it to focus on you again.

             **Right back at you,** Amy said.

Karma lied back down again, looking up at the ceiling and trying to ignore the furious beating of her heart. She was pretty sure they were flirting or maybe Amy was just that open-minded. Either way, she forced herself to take a few deep even breaths. She was scared—she didn’t know this Amy. She felt as if she shouldn’t try at all—it was hard to trust, after what Liam had done.

But she wanted to take a risk. Maybe Amy would be different.

             **I have to do some homework,** she told Amy,  **and unless you know the different types of Temperaments, I’m afraid that our meeting will have to be cut short.**

Amy’s reply came half a minute later.

             **I don’t know shit about Freud, sorry. It was nice talking to you, Karma. Same time tomorrow?**

Karma tried to pretend that her heart didn’t just skip a beat after reading those words.

             **Hold your horses, you might be a serial killer or something.**

She didn’t even have to worry if Amy thought she was weird—five minutes into this conversation and she was already comfortable with the other girl.

             **Sad to say, I don’t have any horses but I’ll be adding that to my Christmas List. And I’m not a serial killer—I’m not stupid enough to use my own phone and give you my real name.**

Karma—

             **That’s something a serial killer would say.**

Amy—

             **Ditto.**

Karma smiled at the screen before switching her phone off. Let Amy have the last word, she didn’t care. She settled comfortably in her bed, trying to imagine what the other girl looked like. She tried to imagine the color of her eyes and if she had freckles and if her laugh would make Karma feel happy—it was clear that she was blonde; Shane had pointed that out to her weeks ago.

 _Weeks ago,_  Karma thought, frowning. God, why had she waited so long? If she had known that Amy would be this—well, cool—she would’ve texted her sooner.

So much for that. Karma slid off the bed and waddled to the living room to start on her homework again.

.

The doorbell rang.

Karma rubbed the sleep off her eyes and straightened up. She lay in a bundle of review papers and a bunch of textbooks talking about the history of Psychology and etc. Her back hurt and her right hand was sore from writing down notes but she managed to stand on her two feet. It was 8:50 p.m. and the pizza had arrived.

She had called Pizza services halfway through her studying session since she got hungry by the time she started reading about the different abnormal disorders Psychologists had to tackle on. She had fallen asleep halfway through Bipolar disorder.

As she walked over to the front door, she pulled out her phone and checked her messages. So far, Amy hadn’t texted her or anything. She tried to wave off a rush of disappointment as she swung the door open.

Pizza Girl stood there, smirking. “You’re becoming one of our regulars now,” she remarked.

Karma tried to form some words but they got lost somewhere inside her throat. She felt flushed and heated, since Pizza Girl’s hair was curled around her shoulders and the top of her shirt was unbuttoned and she looked—well, she looked  _hot_. And not the kind of hot that made you stop and stare but the kind of hot that made you hot and heavy, the kind of hot that made you wish you were inside a bedroom with the same hot person that was making you feel hot and—Karma shut down her thoughts, mildly horrified at the vivid images she was seeing in her head.

Pizza Girl’s smile widened. “Cat caught your tongue?” she asked.

“Nah.” Karma swallowed nervously as she accepted the box.

“Surprised you’re not getting chubby,” Pizza Girl said lightly, winking as she flipped her blonde hair over one shoulder. Yeah. Totally hot. “Still looking cute as ever.”

 _I have a thing for blondes, apparently,_ Karma thought to herself as her head swam with different comebacks for the flirtatious look Pizza Girl was giving her but none of them seemed good enough. She settled for lamely saying, “Thanks for you know—delivering my pizza.”

Pizza Girl’s smile didn’t waver. “Pleasure.” She asked Karma to sign the receipt and then accepted the cash before walking away, her footsteps thundering against the dead calm of the hallway.

.

“Well, you were right,” Karma said the moment she caught up with Shane in campus.

“Ah.” Shane looked up from his phone, grinning. “My three favorite words. Enlighten me. What am I right about?”

“This Blondie girl,” Karma answered, walking up to him and swinging her arms around. “Well, I kept my word and I talked to her. Suffice to say, she’s pretty cool. Sarcastic. Annoying. But still cool.”

Shane laughed. “I knew you’d hit it off! So, tell me, what’s her name? I can’t remember names that much but I have a feeling that it’s Anna! Or maybe Crystal, I don’t know anymore. It might’ve started off with—”

“Amy,” Karma says, the name rolling off her tongue like honey, “Her name’s Amy.”

Shane gestured profoundly, like he was in a play portraying Hamlet. “Knew it! I was right and you owe me big time. I’m sure Amy’s going to take away the pain soon enough.”

“She’s not some kind of rebound, Shane,” Karma said, squaring her shoulders when she passed by a couple of Liam’s friends. Thank God Liam wasn’t around. She could feel them watching her, no doubt muttering about how pitiful it was for her to start hanging out with Liam’s best buddy. Tears sprang in her eyes as she remembered but she forced herself not to cry, especially not in the middle of campus.

Shane noticed the look on her face and then turned to the direction of Liam’s gang. He held out two middle fingers, shouting, “LIAM’S AN ASSHOLE, YOU FUCKING TURDS” before grabbing Karma’s arm and whisking them away into the nearest building, which happened to be her next class.

Karma was laughing so hard her stomach hurt. “I don’t think anybody has ever called somebody else a turd for me.”

Shane patted her shoulder. “Well, somebody should.” He quickly pecked her on the cheek before walking backwards to another hallway. “See you around; I’ve still got classes to go to. Keep talking to Anna—or—”

“Amy!”

“Right! See ya!”

He jogged off and Karma watched him go, a smile lingering on her lips. Then she pulled out her phone and walked into her next class.

.

Halfway through the lecture, her phone chimed.

A few classmates shot her glares and the professor paused for a while before relentlessly continuing, apparently deciding that stopping the lecture because a phone rang just wasn’t worth it. Karma’s cheeks burned and she discreetly pulled out her phone and checked the message that had popped up, silencing her ring tone in the process as well.

Her eyes skimmed the words and a smile formed in her lips. Amy had texted her first, in the middle of class, without even a warning and her heart swelled.

             **Okay, what looks better? _Guardians of The Galaxy_  or  _Godzilla_?**

Karma sneaked a glance back at the professor. He was too busy talking about the key points of Psychology in other branches of Medicine. Besides, Karma was sitting at the very back of the class. There was no way she was going to be seen. With that reminder in her head, she quickly typed a response to Amy, pressing the Send button before anybody could see her.

             **Why not both?**

Her phone buzzed a minute later. She peeked at it.

             **Awesome. Maybe we should binge-watch together.**        

Her seatmate turned to look at her but Karma couldn’t help but reply back:

             **Can’t. I’m at school. Say hi to Chris Pratt for me, though.**

Amy’s response came back mere seconds later.

             **Done.**

.

“Karma, Karma, Karma! Karma! Yo! Earth to Karma!”

Karma jerked her face away from the screen of her phone and turned around to see Shane standing by the doorway, holding out a bunch of groceries in his hands. He looked as if he had been standing there for a while now. She hastily put away her phone before rising to meet her friend.

“I don’t think even an earthquake could’ve made you willingly take your eyes off your phone,” Shane remarked.

"Sorry," Karma said, casually gesturing at the phone in her pocket, "I was texting Amy." 

Shane gave her a look. "You're always texting Amy," he said as he approached the room and dropped the groceries into the table. He eyed her with barely concealed giddiness. "So, have you sent each other selfies yet? When people send each other selfies, then it's definitely flirting. When are you two going to hook up? I could—“

“Shane, Karma said, sighing loudly as she dropped back on the couch and draped her arms over the back of it, “I don’t even know what she looks like.”

“Well, that’s because you’re not trying hard enough,” he said, taking the egg tray from the grocery bag and placing it inside the refrigerator. He glanced over his shoulder to give Karma a look. “What are you waiting for? You’ve been texting each other for  _days_  now. That’s commitment. Besides, I’ve seen her and God, she is  _gorgeous_.”

“No spoilers please.”

Shane guffawed. “Are you sure? I could snap a pic and send it to you—”

“ _Shane_ ,” Karma said firmly, “I’ll see her when I want to see her.”

“You want to see her right now.”

Karma’s cheeks warmed. “Okay, I’ll see her when she wants me to see her. I’ve been subtly asking for pictures but she’s very vague. My imagination ruins me, though. I can’t help but wonder what she looks like.”

“Boo, she’s beautiful. Seriously, she is. You don’t have to worry about your kids anymore, okay?” Shane grabbed an apple from the bags and plopped down on the couch next to her. He swiped the apple across his front and gave her a patronizing look. “Besides, you’re pretty. You can both make pretty pretty babies.”

“I’m not that much of a pervert.”

He smiled and handed her the apple. She accepted it graciously and faced the TV. “Thanks for buying the groceries for me. I didn’t have the time to leave the house.”

“Oh, you had time.” Shane gave her a wicked smile. “You just wanted the time to talk to Amy more.”

“That is so  _not—_ ”

“You’re not fooling anyone, okay?” He pointed to the screen of the TV, where it was showing the movie  _500 Days of Summer_. “Boo, you’re crazy for this girl. It’s so freaking obvious. You’re like all of those romantics out there who can’t stop thinking about their significant other. Usually, I’m against this because we both know there is no such thing as soul mates but seeing you look so happy and lovey-dovey, well—it makes it kind of hard not to believe in the stuff of fairy tales.”

Karma gave him a squinty-eyed look. “Okay, be honest. Have you been listening to Taylor Swift?”

“Come on! Her new album just came out! She’s like screaming a big ‘FUCK YOU’ to the media. And I think she’s great and she has awesome lyrics.”

Karma sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Okay, shut up and watch the movie. I like Taylor Swift and all but I’m not going to spend the next hour talking about her.”

“What about Amy—?”

“You can shut up now. Thank you.”

Shane grinned before turning back to the TV. “Whipped,” he muttered under his breath.

.

Karma glanced over at her phone, where a new message had popped up. Quickly putting her thesis on hold, she picked it up, swiping away the screen lock and reading the words Amy had sent her. 

                 **I don’t know why I never asked you this but are you single?**

Her heartbeat picked up rather quickly and she blushed.

                 **Why are you asking?**

Amy’s response came a lot slower than normal.

                 **Well, I wouldn’t want to be flirting with a taken girl now, would I?**

 _Holy shit_ , Karma thought to herself. Now her heart rate was definitely going off the charts.

                 **Are you always this smooth when texting girls?**

Amy—

                 **Only in text. I’m a huge dork once you get to know me in real life.**

Karma bit her lower lip as she smiled.

                 **Then we should definitely meet in real life.**

 _Ding_!

                 **You still haven’t answered my question, though.**

 _Fuck Liam_ , Karma thought as she typed in a reply:

                 **Yes, I’m single. If you haven’t figured that out yet.**

She couldn’t believe she was actually doing this. Amy was a stranger to her.  _No, she isn’t_ , a rational part of her fiercely said,  _you’ve been texting her for weeks. You_ know _her._ Okay, maybe Amy  _wasn’t_ a stranger to her anymore. Besides, Shane was the one who had hooked them up. This wasn’t wrong. Nothing about all of this was wrong. And if Karma was being honest with herself, it just felt  _right_ , especially after what had happened with Liam.

 _Ding_! Another message popped up and Karma glanced down at it.

            **Well, that’s good.**

“Thanks for being vague,” Karma said out loud, to no one in particular. But that didn’t stop the smile from breaking out on her face and the giddiness that seemed to clutch at her heart.

.

“Shit,” Shane muttered under his breath, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to get his bearings.

“This is what happens when you get drunk without any friends to supervise you, Shane,” Karma said as she grabbed Shane from falling over. “Now, can you please tell me where your car is?”

Shane clutched her arm tightly. He smelled strongly of booze and sweat. There was a thin layer of liquid down his front. Karma didn’t even want to know what it was, knowing that a drunk Shane was basically a recipe for disaster. He tried to speak but the words that came out were an incoherent mess so he just gave up and struggled to find his car keys.

“How the hell did you even contact me?” Karma asked, watching with mild amusement, “You are way too drunk to even stand up.”

“He didn’t,” a voice said from behind. Karma froze. “I did.”

Liam was standing behind her, hair carelessly tousled and cheeks red from the cold. He looked ungratefully handsome and Karma forced down the pain and sadness that threatened to wash over her once she saw the look in his face.

“I was with him,” he tried to explain; “I didn’t have your number so I had to borrow his phone.”

“Couldn’t you have gotten him home yourself?” she asked, miffed at being dragged out here in the middle of a cold night when she could be at home, texting Amy and watching reruns of _America’s Next Top Model_.

Liam opened his mouth but promptly shut it again. He didn’t seem to have anything else to say. Karma felt the anger building up inside her, the anger she had kept down for so long. She remembered seeing him with that girl, remembered feeling that strong dose of betrayal, remembered thinking, _Fuck this, I deserve better._

“So, you called me out here on purpose,” Karma said, tensing her jaw.

Shane had managed to get up on his feet. “He wanted to— _hiccup_ —Karma, he wanted—wanted to—”

“Shut up, you’re drunk.”

Shane fell back against the pavement with a resounding _thud_. Liam didn’t make a move.

“Look,” he said, stepping forward. Karma crossed her arms and graciously stepped back. His hands closed into fists and his nostrils flared. “I wanted to talk to you, okay? I wanted to let you know that it was a mistake. I didn’t mean to sleep with Sarah—she just kind of jumped into me and I—”

“So, you’re blaming _her_?” Karma demanded harshly, her disgust hardening her tone.

“No, that’s not right. Damn it, you’re twisting my—”

“— _I’m_ twisting your words?” Karma could feel the anger bubbling inside her chest, an ugly raw emotion that threatened to snap Liam’s neck. “Liam, I’m just repeating what you said. You need to stop being such an asshole and actually take responsibility for your actions. _You_ slept with Sarah. _You_ cheated on me. _You_ made a mistake. Now leave me alone.”

“Karma—”

“No.”

She turned around and pulled Shane up to his feet. He staggered once but Karma’s hand was firm against his arm. They did a little bit of dancing around before he finally managed to get a hold of his posture. They left Liam behind, the cold wind blowing against their faces, making their hair stand on the edges. Karma was clutching on Shane’s arm so hard that she was leaving bruises.

“Ow—ouch—okay, okay, Karma, I get it—” Shane winced as he took a step back. He seemed to have slightly sobered up. “I’m sorry— _hiccup_ —I am very very— _hiccup_ —for bringing Liam— _hiccup—_ and I—”

Karma waved him off. She hadn’t realized she was crying until she put her hands against her face. Her fingers came in contact with her tears and she collapsed against the wall of a building, her legs suddenly giving out. Shane dropped in next to her, sighing as he twisted the front of his shirt tightly.

“He sucks,” he said.

Karma swallowed the lump in her throat. “He does, right?”

He touched her shoulder. “Can I—can I—tell you something?” he asked. There was a thin layer of sweat covering his upper lip.

Karma stubbornly wiped away her tears. “What?”

“I—I actually— _hiccup_ —don’t have my—my car ke— _hiccup_ —my car keys right now.” He looked sheepish and Karma couldn’t help but laugh.

“Fuck. I don’t even have enough cash for bus fare. Jesus, Shane, you’re a fucking mess right now,” she told him severely.

“I—I’m not— _hiccup_ —I’m not the one with—with the ex who just—”

“Okay, no need to remind me.”

Shane ran his hand through his hair, looking as miserable as she felt. Suddenly deciding that there was no way they could stay here in this cold night, she grabbed her friend by the shoulders and pulled him up to his feet, heedless of his complaining. She could feel the heat of his body affecting hers and the thought of staying in and drinking a hot cup of coffee melted her insides. Sigh. She wished she was back in her apartment.

“Come on,” she told him firmly, “Let’s get out of here.”

They walked for a few more miles, Shane often falling on his knees or just stumbling to the side. Karma had to hold on to his side to make sure that he didn’t get killed off by traffic. They passed by a still open shop and Karma glanced inside to check the clock, frowning when she saw that it was already 11 PM.

“Jesus,” she muttered under her breath, sighing as she let go of Shane. He crashed against the wall and bumped his head, swearing loudly. Karma was done. She slid next to her friend and reached over to clasp his hand. The encounter with Liam had left her shaken, opening some wounds that she didn’t want to fix anymore.

She could see her breath stirring in the cold wind. Shane dropped his head against her shoulder and was instantly asleep. She listened to his steady breathing before looking up at the sky, her eyes searching for the stars that her mother always pointed out. She could practically name and find every constellation out there. She saw Sirius, The Big Dipper, Orion and etc. Their names soon melted together to form an incoherent mess in her head.

The door to the shop suddenly swung open and somebody stepped outside. Karma spared the newcomer a glance before her entire body froze. _Holy shit_ , she thought to herself.

“Pizza Girl?” she exclaimed out loud.

Pizza Girl swiveled around to look at her. She looked—well, she _always_ looked beautiful so there wasn’t anything new in there but somehow, with Karma looking up at her, the blonde seemed more enchanting than all of their other meetings. Her hair was down and her green eyes were bright under the illumination of the lights coming from the store (Karma realized, too late, that it was the same pizza shop she always ordered from). She was wearing ordinary clothes with her messenger bag slung over one shoulder and the fact that the other girl was actually standing in front of Karma seemed to ground the girl back to reality.

Now _this_ was embarrassing.

“Pizza Girl?” the other girl said, snorting loudly, “Now _that’s_ a good codename.”

“Sorry,” Karma immediately added, flustered.

Pizza Girl glanced over at Shane. Something flashed in her eyes but Karma was too busy trying to find the next words to say to notice.

“Are you in some sort of a dilemma right now?” Pizza Girl asked.

“You can say that,” Karma muttered, realizing that it was probably rude to keep sitting down. She staggered up to her feet, her hand shooting out for the brick wall in order to balance her weight. “Shane’s drunk, I just saw my ex, I don’t have cash for a bus fare and here I am, stuttering in front of you when you’ve obviously had a long day hauling pizzas around and I’m really really sorry—you should get going now before I—”

“Relax, Ashcroft,” Pizza Girl said, smiling. Karma’s heart rate quickened.

“You remember my name.”

“Of course I remember your name. It’s not every day you get to meet someone called Karma. Cute name, by the way.” Pizza Girl flipped her blonde over her shoulder and fixed Karma with a stare that was both unflinching and harsh at the same time.

Karma frowned. Pizza Girl’s words sounded strangely familiar but she couldn’t quite pinpoint them. Instead of dwelling too much about it, she said, “I don’t even know _your_ name.”

Pizza Girl’s smile flickered slightly. “That’s a topic we’re going to have to talk about later. Anyway, I have a car and you need a ride. It seems plausible that I should help you out right now.” She crossed her arms and looked at Karma with that stare again.

Karma’s mouth had gone dry. “Are you sure? I don’t really want to bother you or anything—”

“Karma,” Pizza Girl said with a hint of exasperation in her tone. “It’s fine, really. I don’t have anything better to do anyway. Well, I was going to watch the latest episode of _Carmilla_ but that can wait.”

“Wait.” Karma held up a hand, the absurdity of the situation forgotten for a moment. “You know _Carmilla_?”

Pizza Girl raised her eyebrows. “Uhm, yeah? Why?”

“Nothing,” Karma forced herself to say, “Nothing—I just—I didn’t know anybody in this city had seen _Carmilla_.”

“Are you kidding?” Now Pizza Girl looked absolutely mortified. “ _Carmilla_ ’s the greatest web series I’ve ever watched. I mean, the LGBTQ representation is awesome enough but the fact that the entire cast is literally _female_ , except for Kirsch and Will—that literally blows my mind.”

Despite the fact that Shane was probably freezing his ass off and that Karma’s eyes were still sore from the tears she had shed after seeing Liam, Karma still couldn’t help the fond smile that quirked on her lips as she listened to Pizza Girl rant about ‘stupid useless lesbian vampires.’

Maybe this night wasn’t so bad, after all.

.

Together, they dragged an unconscious Shane into the back of the car. It was tedious work but they both laughed when Pizza Girl accidentally dropped Shane’s foot on the ground and he let out a sleepy yelp. It was unexpected and easy and Karma couldn’t help but feel grateful to the other girl.

After they were finished, Karma slid into the shotgun seat while Pizza Girl started the engine. At first, there was only silence and the occasional clearing of throat and drumming of the fingers against the wheel. Then Karma asked,

“So, do you think Danny Lawrence’s a werewolf in disguise?”

Pizza Girl wasn’t looking at her but she grinned. That grin kind of made Karma’s heart race, even though it was already going a hundred miles per hour.

.

“I hope this doesn’t become a regular thing now,” Pizza Girl told her after they hauled Shane up the stairs to Karma’s apartment room. Both of them had a fine layer of sweat covering their bodies and Karma was surprised to find out that she didn’t give a shit about it. Sure, she had probably embarrassed herself a lot during this encounter but at least she got to know about Pizza Girl more.

Except for one thing—

“You still haven’t told me your name,” Karma said, crossing her arms as the other girl leaned against her car.

Pizza Girl shrugged. “I don’t give out my name to potential serial killers or stalkers.” She grinned, which was the only indication that she was relatively joking.

Karma scoffed even though her brain had short-circuited somehow. Again, Pizza Girl’s words seemed to have triggered something in her head but yet again, she couldn’t pinpoint it.

“I’m serious,” she said but Pizza Girl didn’t make a move so she sighed. “Fine. You won’t give me your name but I’m really really glad we bumped into each other.”

“You’re just saying that,” Pizza Girl said, smirking.

“Are you always this pessimistic?”

“Only on days that end with Y.”

Karma laughed then sobered quickly. She fiercely hoped that Pizza Girl didn’t think of her as a bother since she genuinely liked the other girl’s company. Besides, she knew that underneath all of that sarcastic nature, Pizza Girl was actually a really nice person. What kind of person offered to drag an unconscious person through four flights of stairs?

Pizza Girl turned to her car but Karma stopped her by saying, “I hope we’ll see each other more!”

The other girl laughed heartily, opening the door to the driver’s seat and perching her chin against her arm, her gaze unflinchingly gentle. Her smile sent a wave of reassurance to wash over Karma. 

“Ditto,” she said, winking. “Good night, Karma.”

“Night, _Pizza Girl_ ,” Karma said.

Pizza Girl nodded once before sliding into the driver’s seat. As she turned on the engine, she glanced over at Karma and waved; her smile as bright as the sun. Karma’s heart melted alongside her internal organs as she watched the car drive away, disappearing as it rounded a corner.

She could still see Pizza Girl’s smile, though. Clear as crystal. It was burned in the back of her eyelids.

.

“God, this hangover is _killing_ me,” Shane yelled.

Karma came back from the kitchen with a few aspirins and a glass of water. She gave them to Shane before resuming her usual seat on the couch, already pulling out her phone as she checked Amy’s messages.

            **Finn DESERVED to die. He killed 18 peeps! I can’t believe you’re defending him!**

This debate had been going on for some while now. Karma was a bit shocked to find out that even though Amy was a bit neutral when it came to Finn Collins, she was actually a bit vocal when it came to his death.

            **He was just a kid! 17!!!**

“God, are you two geeking out again?” Shane asked, rubbing his eyes as he drank his water.

“Shut up, you dragged me to my fucking ex so you can’t talk shit right now,” Karma mumbled.

Shane threw his hands up in the air (after setting down the glass) and sighed profoundly. His eyes were red and his voice was thick with pain when he talked, “ _He_ was the one who texted you! I was knocked out, remember?”

 _Ding_! Karma swiped her lock screen away, frowning as she read Amy’s words.

            **He still killed 18 people. Blood must have blood.**

Karma typed in quick reply—

            **You’re evil.**

Shane glanced at the screen. “Not a good way to start the morning,” he muttered under his breath. He still reeked of alcohol and sweat but at least he had stopped hiccupping. He had woken up with a massive headache and didn’t remember the details of the night before.

Karma envied him. She wished she could erase _some_ of the memories as well.

“So, Pizza Girl helped you drag me here?” Shane asked, his voice drooping.

“Yes,” Karma replied shortly.

“She must have a thing for you,” Shane said, giving her a sly smile. “No person in their right mind would help carry a gay dude up four flights of stairs. Either she’s Santa Claus in disguise or she’s really into you.”

Karma bit her lower lip, even though the idea sort of pleased her.

“You’re actually increasing my self-esteem right now,” she told her friend.

“Really?” Shane narrowed his eyes. “By how much?”

“Like, 1%,” Karma answered matter-of-factly.

A _ding_ interrupted Shane and Karma raised a finger before turning back to her phone, her lips already forming a smile as she skimmed through Amy’s text.

            **But you like me anyway ;)**

“I think I’m going to barf,” Shane muttered under his breath. He lurched to his side, rubbing his eyes. “Thanks for picking me up, though.”

Karma turned to give him a smile. “It’s okay,” she said.

“I’m sorry I brought Liam along,” he murmured, his cheek resting against the pillow. “It was just supposed to be a guy’s night out. I didn’t know he was going to call you. If I _had_ known, I would’ve knocked some sense into him.”

“Are you trying to say that you’d punch him?” Karma asked.

“If I had full control of my body then yes, I would’ve.”

He closed his eyes and fell asleep once more. Karma leaned back against the couch and typed in a reply.

            **Have you ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend?**

Amy—

            **I try not to form relationships. I’m too clingy.**

Karma snorted. “God, you’re a dork,” she muttered.

            **But have you ever met someone who made you want to believe in all the stupid love stories?**

She had been meaning to vent out about Liam but somehow, the question seemed far-fetched. She was no longer talking about Liam; he never made her feel like she was the stuff of fairy tales. But today was different. Now she felt as if she was about to get into a bath without knowing if it was hot or cold. She had some sort of suspicion that she was having a crush on Amy but she still wasn’t sure.

 _Ding_! Karma glanced at the message hurriedly.

            **Yeah. I met someone.**

Karma—

**What did you do about it?**

Half a minute later—

            **I don’t know. I’ve never tried before.**

There was a pause but before Karma could reply, Amy had sent in another message:

            **But I’m willing to try.**

Karma couldn’t help but feel as if the words were directed at her.

.

If there was anything Karma was good at, it was eating pizza.

And embarrassing herself in front of the pizza delivery girl.

She was just coming out of the shower when the doorbell rang. Thinking that it was probably Shane, she wrapped a towel around her body and her hair, yelling out a “ _Be there in a sec_!”  She was comfortable with Shane, there was nothing embarrassing around Shane so she stepped out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel on and hurried to the front door. Beads of water rolled down the back of her neck. She felt refreshingly cool.

“I thought you were coming later,” Karma began as she swung the door open.

She nearly dropped her towel when she realized that it wasn’t Shane standing outside her doorway.

“Oh fuck,” she muttered out loud, her face already boiling.

Pizza Girl stood outside, holding the pizza box out. Her face, to Karma’s surprise, looked as red as a tomato and she was openly staring, her eyes as wide as saucers. Karma closed the door, realizing a bit too late that she had ordered pizza earlier this afternoon. _Holy shit_ , she thought to herself.

“Can you stay there for like a few more minutes?” she called out to Pizza Girl.

“Yeah.” It was probably Karma’s imagination but Pizza Girl sounded as if she was choking.

She hurried to get some clothes on, her face burning the entire time. _Holy shit_. She wondered what was going on in Pizza Girl’s mind and if probably thought Karma was some sort of slut. The thought drained some energy out of her system. She wished she could melt into the ground and not face Pizza Girl. It was bad enough that she had a crush on someone whom she was practically paying to visit her; she did _not_ need that someone thinking that she was sending out some sort of signal.

Just before she opened the door, she closed her eyes and prayed that this day wasn’t going to get any worse.

“I’m really sorry about that,” she told Pizza Girl when they were facing each other again.

Pizza Girl was standing in the same position she had been a while ago. She smiled but her cheeks were flushed.

“It’s okay,” she said but with the way her fingers were shaking and the way her voice was stuttering, Karma thought it was anything _but_ okay. Pizza Girl cleared her throat and shook her head, leaning against the doorframe.

Karma tried to still her raging heartbeat. “Thanks,” she murmured, fishing around her wallet for the payment.

Pizza Girl was looking at her strangely. When Karma glanced up, the other girl looked away.

“So it’s nice seeing you again,” she said.

“Ditto.”

Karma gave her the money. Pizza Girl accepted it without another word.

“I’ll see you again, I hope,” Karma added.

And then Pizza Girl smiled and Karma’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. It was just one of those rare smiles that comforted her—a smile that you could only see once or twice in your life, if you weren’t careful. It was smile that said, _I don’t care how fucking weird you are; or if you stutter every time you talk, I think you’re still cool._

“Me too, Karma,” Pizza Girl said.

Then she turned and left.

.

“I’m in such a mess,” Karma said.

“You’ve basically just said your life story right there,” Shane told her.

Karma rubbed her eyes tiredly. She was lying upside down on the couch, staring at the ceiling dejectedly. Shane plopped down on the empty seat next to her and she glanced at him miserably.

“What is it now, boo?” Shane asked.

“I think I’m falling for Amy,” she said out loud. It felt good for the words to be out in the open but it didn’t make her heart slow down.

“That’s good, boo,” Shane told her, patting her stomach.

“But that’s the problem,” Karma whined, “because I think I’m also falling for my pizza delivery girl.”     

Shane looked at her questioningly. “Now _that’s_ a dilemma,” he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Do you even know them well enough? Cause there is a possibility that they _might_ be serial killers.”

Karma scoffed. “That’s the weirdest thing,” she spoke with a thick voice, “because the first time I actually talked to them, they said the same thing. Something about serial killers and ditto. Hmm. Coincidence, I guess.”

“You just need to talk to Amy,” Shane said, propping his legs on her stomach. Karma made a noise.

“But I _do_ talk to Amy,” she muttered.

“Face to face, you dork.”

Karma groaned. “But what if she doesn’t want to?”

“She’ll want to,” Shane said. She could hear him shuffling around and before she knew it, he was calling Amy through the phone. Karma jumped up, the blood running straight to her head as she tried to grab the phone from Shane’s grip.

“Oh hi, is this Amy? Hi, I’m Shane. I believe we’ve met. Hmm. Right. Yes. That’s me. Tall, gay and fabulous,” Shane was saying, grinning widely as Karma stopped her futile attempts. Horrified, she silently leaned back and stared at her friend. “Yes. I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with Karma, she’s been beating herself up because of it. Yes. Oh, don’t sound so surprised, boo. I’ve seen you and I think you’re gorgeous. I’m serious. Hmm. Uh-huh. You might want to bring flowers—Karma’s a hopeless romantic; she’ll like roses. Yeah? That’s good?” Shane turned to her suddenly. His eyes were bright. “Pick her up at 6.”        

Karma made a final move. She leapt towards Shane and wrestled the phone from him. He barely gave a fight.

“You win,” Shane said, raising one eyebrow.

Karma turned to the phone. To her surprise, Amy was still on the other side.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly.

“ _Hi_ ,” Amy said. Her voice sounded vaguely familiar but Karma didn’t dwell too much into it. She was too busy trying to calm her throbbing heart. She could hear Shane laughing behind her but she forced him out of her thoughts. “ _So, are we still on for later_?”

“Yes!” Karma said before closing her eyes and thinking that she probably sounded too eager. “I mean, yeah sure. Why not? It’s just a casual date, right? Like one of the dates where you get to know each other. But that’s the thing cause we already know each other, right? God. Screw Shane. _I_ wanted to ask you myself.”

The words were out before she had time to grab them back. She stood there, silently hating herself for being such a nervous wreck when she suddenly heard Amy laugh.

“ _That makes me feel better_ ,” Amy said, “ _because I really wanted to ask you out as well_.”

Karma dropped back on the couch, sighing in relief. She felt lightheaded.

“Really? Wow.”

“ _Don’t sound so surprised_ ,” Amy said and she sounded like she was smiling. “ _I’ll pick you up at 6_.”

And then she hung up. Karma put down her phone and glanced over at Shane, who was smiling at her.

“You owe me one,” he said.

Karma threw a pillow at his face.

.

“Screw this crap,” Karma said out loud before she threw another dress on her bed. “I’m not equipped to handle this. You know what? I should get pizza. Pizza always makes things better.”

She was talking to herself, she knew. But she knew that if she didn’t talk to herself, her brain was going to explode from all the rapid thoughts that were passing through. She had taken a shower two hours ago and had already curled her hair to near perfection. Her eyebrow game was strong. But she just didn’t know what to wear. Walking around in her underwear was definitely not helping her out.

And suddenly deciding to order pizza was making things worse.

She leaned against the impossibly cool counter in her kitchen and picked up the phone. She ordered the usual and the guy on the other end said that her order would arrive at around 6. She tried not to scream when she heard that.

“What if they come at the same time?” Karma asked herself as she dove inside her closet again. She came out holding a nice floral dress that might’ve belonged to her grandmother once. She threw it away. “What if they think that I’m dating the two of them? Oh God, what if Amy realizes that I might not totally be single since I have a fucking crush on the Pizza Girl? What the fuck happened to my life. Jesus.”

She decided to wear a blue dress that she had bought a few months back but had never gotten the chance to wear. It reached her knees and was easy to walk around in. _Very comfortable_ , she thought to herself as she clipped in some earrings. She was so busy with her outfit that she hadn’t realized that it was almost 6 already. She was about to attach a bracelet to her wrist when her phone rang and the caller ID read _Amy_.

“Hi,” she said.

“ _How come we never called each other_?” Amy asked.

Karma furrowed her eyebrows. “I’m not sure. It was easier to text anyway.”

“ _Well, I know the answer,”_ Amy said and she sounded as if she was struggling not to laugh, “ _but you’ll have to wait and see first. Anyway, are you as nervous as I am_?”

Karma was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. If that wasn’t nervous—

“Maybe. I just ordered pizza even though we’re going out. I’m really hungry, though and nervous. Crap.”

Amy laughed. She had a nice laugh. Karma looked at her watch and realized that it was already 6:01. And that was the same time the doorbell rang.

“Crap, I’m not even sure if this is the Pizza Girl or you,” Karma said, heading out of the bedroom, “but I can’t wait to meet you, though. I hope you’re not a serial killer. God, shut up, Karma.”

“ _You’re adorable when you’re nervous_ ,” Amy said, “ _but I have a feeling that our meeting is going to come sooner than expected_.”

“Well, duh.” Karma’s hand was on the doorknob, her fingers clutching the cool brass tightly. Her heart was hammering in her chest again, like a loud drumbeat that couldn’t be stilled. She could smell pizza and her heart nearly did an overdrive. _Pizza Girl_.

“ _No, you don’t get it_ ,” Amy said, her voice sounding strange. “ _See, that’s the thing_ —”

Instinct told Karma to open the door and she did. And she nearly dropped her phone in the process.

“—we’ve already met,” Amy finished.

Karma’s mouth was slightly agape. Because standing in front of her was Pizza Girl, holding out the pizza box and smiling widely, looking as beautiful as all of the other times they faced each other. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail and Karma was surprised to see that she had dressed up a little as well. But the thing that struck her the most was that Pizza Girl held a phone in her ear and her voice sounded a lot like Amy’s so that could only mean one thing—

“You’re Amy,” Karma said. She was absolutely dumbstruck.

“Well, duh.” Amy ended the call and passed her the pizza box. “I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out when you and I talked on the phone.”

“Wait.” Karma’s head was spinning. She turned around and placed the pizza on the counter. When she turned around, Amy had followed her inside. She took a step back. “Does that mean that—the whole time we were texting each other, you were actually the same person giving me my pizza?”

Pizza Girl—no, that wasn’t right—Amy looked a bit confused. “That’s exactly what it means,” she said.

“So you were totally the one who ordered the pizza when I didn’t even order it, right?” Karma asked, realizing that a lot of things were starting to make sense now.

Amy shrugged. “I had to woo you,” she said, grinning.

“So, that’s why you didn’t want to give me your name,” Karma said. She was merely connecting the dots now but she felt as if she had won the biggest raffle for “THE STUPIDEST PERSON IN THE PLANET.”

“Yes,” Amy said, smiling, “I’m not a serial killer, okay?”

“You asshole,” Karma said, her voice rising. Amy’s smile slipped. “I was so fucking confused! Did you not realize that I might actually be falling for this random girl I text and at the same time, my pizza deliver girl? I thought I was having a mid-life crisis! I thought I was good enough to be one of the teenagers authors like John Green write about! And holy shit, it was you all this time? You were actually the same person all this time?”

“Wait,” Amy said. She raised a finger, looking as if she was meditating. God, she was gorgeous. Then she smiled and once again, Karma felt a wave of reassurance wash over her. “You were falling for me?”

“I was!” Karma said, squeezing her eyes shut, “Well, I am.”

Amy grinned. _You’ve got a face to go with the name_ , Karma thought to herself. Still, she wasn’t as distraught as she expected herself to be. In fact, she felt as if the weight of the world had been ripped from her shoulders. Amy and Pizza Girl was the same person. The girl she had gotten to know for like weeks now was actually the person who was flirting with her in real life. Surely, that was better than any kind of raffle.

“That’s good,” Amy said, “Because let’s be real, I was falling for you too.”

Karma smiled. “Ditto, right?”

The blonde held out her hand. “Come on,” she said, “Let’s go and watch a movie. I’ve got this entire date planned out since the moment you texted me.”

Karma took her hand but before Amy could tug her out of the door, she pulled the other girl in, pressing their lips together in a quick kiss. Amy made a small satisfied sound before Karma pushed her away.

“People don’t normally kiss on the first date,” the blonde said.

“Well, I’m an exception,” Karma muttered.

Amy smiled before leaning down and kissing her again. “Come on,” she murmured against her lips, “Let’s get going before our reservation gets thrown out the window.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was seriously so long. I spent a month writing this. Ugh but I like how it turned out. I hope you liked it too. It might be a bit dragging but meh, that's what writing is sometimes. 
> 
> Anyway, this fic was inspired by this post I read a long time ago. It's here: (http://mickeyed.tumblr.com/post/99532220369/fic-where-they-know-each-other-but-they-dont-know) and I hope that in the near future, I can write more fics based on this AU since it's awesome as hell.


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